


Flowers

by cryptomoon, destimushi, saltnhalo



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Canon Compliant, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Holidays, Love Confessions, M/M, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 17:02:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13663407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryptomoon/pseuds/cryptomoon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/destimushi/pseuds/destimushi, https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltnhalo/pseuds/saltnhalo
Summary: Three times Dean gave Cas flowers. Well. Kinda.





	1. Meadow

**Author's Note:**

> This was such a fun little project. We each completed one chapter. cryptomoon wrote chapter 1, destimushi wrote chapter 2, and saltnhalo wrote chapter 3.
> 
> It spawned from the an exchange on the [#ProfoundBond Discord](https://profoundnet.tumblr.com/discord):  
> The screenshot of the conversation is pretty big so I'm attaching it to the endnotes.

It's gotta be now.

It's _gonna_ be now. He's tired of being scared all the time. Scared of losing him. Of what the fallout will be when, not if, he does. Well, he's fuckin’ lost him. Lost him and lost him again. And every time it hurts worse. All the reasons it was a bad idea are a lot less clear when he's gone. But now he's got him back and he's done with the reasons. So.

So. It has to be now.

Well, maybe not right _now_ in a piece of shit motel with a broken furnace. With Sam one bed over curled up on a mountain of tissues, staring glassy-eyed at the TV.

“Heya, Sammy. Cas and I are gonna go out for a bit.” Dean stoops down to sweep the majority of the tissues into a wastepaper basket and pushes the back of his hand against Sam's forehead. “We'll grab you some grub on the way back. You gonna be okay?” His fever is down, so that's good.

Sam smacks Dean's hand away weakly. “Dean, I'b fine. Leab me alone.” Sam coughs and pulls the saddest bitchface Dean has ever seen.

Dean frowns, but Sammy is a big boy and Dean has important things to do so he just points at his brother. “Drink some water.”

“Behind you.” Cas steps up next to Dean and nudges him to the side with an elbow.

“Here you are, Sam. This is bone broth. It is a commonly used cold remedy across many cultures.” Cas sets a steaming mug on the table by Sam's bed. “It, obviously, doesn't cure anything but it is warm, healthy, and has a pleasant flavor. I think you will enjoy it.”

“Thanks, Cas.” Sam smiles up at him and blinks heavily. “Go, guys. Let me sleep.”

Cas blinks over at Dean and raises a brow in question.

Dean shrugs and tries not to fidget. “Uh, yeah... we have a few errands to run and Sam needs some rest. So, uh, let's vamanos.”

Sam is already snoring when they lock the door behind them.

Dean opens the door to the Impala and watches Cas slide into the passenger side like he belongs there. Which he does. Belong there, that is.

Cas wiggles a bit to get comfortable before frowning and reaching into the front pocket of his jeans. He pulls out the old beat up tactical knife he picked out of Dean’s collection to claim as his own, flips it across the back of his fingers once, and sticks it into his boot before nodding to himself and doing up his seatbelt.

Cas does shit like that all the time and it _fucks Dean up_. He likes to twirl his knives and walk quarters across his knuckles. It’s really hard to research hex bag variations with Cas expertly twirling a pen through his long fingers two feet away.

“...Dean?”

“Hm. What?” Dean lays an arm across the back of the seat and pretends to be distracted by backing out of the motel parking lot and turning onto the main road.

Cas chuckles, eyes crinkling at the corners, and ducks his head down for a second. It’s completely fucking adorable and Dean’s heart does a little flip-flop in his chest. “I asked what the errands we are running were.”

“Oh. Uh, well.” Shit. He hadn’t planned for the decoy errand. “Um. It’s a surprise?”

Cas’s eyebrows jump up to his hairline and he narrows his eyes, turning fully in his seat to analyze Dean. “A surprise? So, it’s not an errand then?”

Dean stares at the road in front of him and scrubs a hand back through his hair. He glances at Cas for a second as he turns off the main road out of town.

“Well, yeah, no. Not really an errand. Just, uh...” He takes a left onto a county access road, the Impala bouncing over potholes. “Just something I found that I wanna show you. No big deal.”

Cas definitely looks suspicious now. He’s such a little shit. Most people hear someone wants to surprise them and they get excited, they don’t gear up for an interrogation.

“So, this _something_ you wish to show me is worth lying to Sam, while he’s sick. It doesn’t sound like ‘ _no big deal_ ’ to me.”

“Well, I mean it kinda… no, ya know what, Cas?” Dean glances over and points a finger at Cas, “ _You_ are fishing. You’ll just have to wait.”

Cas huffs and rolls his eyes, but turns to peer silently out the window. Dean is pretty sure Cas actually _is_ excited. They don’t get a lot of time to do little things like spur of the moment drives or whatever.

Dean turns the Impala off the access road and up to a condemned farmhouse on the edge of the woods.

Cas blinks over at a small dilapidated barn. “Is this a hunt? Is that why you didn’t want to tell Sam?” He squints at Dean with a small frown as they climb out of the car, “because he is sick.”

“No, it’s not a hunt. We did hunt a ghoul here back in, uh, ‘08 I think?” Dean waves a hand toward the barn. “Stop asking questions man, you’ll see.”

Dean leads them across the small overgrown yard toward the woods. “So, yeah, there was this cool place here back then, uh, during that ghoul thing, and I came back here the other day to see if it was still there and…” Dean stops at the edge of the woods and stuffs his hands in his pockets before taking them back out and crossing his arms.

“And you wish to show me this _cool place_ ,” Cas finishes for him with a small, crooked smile. Yeah, he’s excited for sure.

Dean can’t really help but smile back. “Well, yeah, but it’s not just that. Uh.” He glances toward a small trail leading into the woods. “Hell, come on, I’ll just show you.”

He reaches out and snags Cas’s fingers in his, walking quickly down the trail to avoid looking back to see his reaction. He can feel his ears burning and his heart skips a beat when Cas shifts his hand to thread their fingers together properly.

They walk for a couple minutes, stepping over rotten branches and carefully ducking under thorny bushes covered with small bunches of hard green blackberries. They step over a small creek and around a large cluster of maple trees and come to a stop in a wide clearing.

Dean turns around to face Cas, their fingers still linked, and clears his throat.

Cas is looking around the clearing with a small smile and blinks over at Dean when he squeezes his hand a little bit. “Is this the surprise?”

Dean nods. “Well, yeah, I remember you sayin’ a while ago that it didn’t make sense to you how people cut down flowers and give them to people as a, uh,” Dean drops his voice to a gravely imitation of Cas’s and curls the fingers of his free hand into air quotes, “gesture of affection.”

“Is that what this is? A sign of affection?”

No going back now.

“I know this is super cheesy and lame, but we just wrapped that banshee right up the road from this place and it’s Valentine’s Day. I don’t usually give a shit about that kinda thing,” he reaches up to pick at a loose thread on the collar of Cas’s t-shirt, “and I know you were around to see the hanging gardens of Babylon and all that, but I figure you weren’t human then and now that you’re stuck down here with me, I could show you some of the good shit about being human. Like, uh, _this_ …” he waves a hand toward the flowers scattered around the clearing and glances up to gauge the look on Cas’s face.

If Dean wasn’t busy trying to not pass out the look on Cas’s face would almost be comical. His eyes are wide under arched brows and his mouth is open in a small ‘o’. A beat passes and Cas tilts his head slightly to the side and takes another look around. His eyebrows draw down and he looks back to Dean and shakes his head in confusion.

“What are you trying to say, Dean?”

Dean takes a step closer and slides his hand from Cas’s collar to cup his jaw. “I’m crap at this, man. Big gestures and that kinda thing,” he huffs a short laugh, “but, I want to show you all _this_ stuff. The _good_ stuff about being human. About being stuck down on this crappy rock with a couple a’ cranky old hunters.”

Dean takes a steadying breath. “So, usually when a person tells their best friend that they’re in love with them they bring them flowers, but you don’t like cut flowers so, I brought _you_ to the flowers instead.” Dean shrugs and tries to ignore the roaring in his ears as he searches Cas’s face.

Cas’s breath hitches in his chest and his eyes dart over Deans face before landing on his eyes for a long moment. He finally steps the last inch between them and catches Dean’s lips in a firm kiss, letting go of his hand to slide his fingers up into Dean’s hair.

Dean is so relieved that all the tension drops out of his shoulders and he breathes a sigh into Cas’s mouth as he cups his face with his hands, tilting it gently to deepen the kiss.

He pulls back after a moment to rest his forehead against Cas’s. “So, you like the flowers?”

Cas smiles and pulls Dean into a tight hug, nuzzling into his shoulder. “The flowers are beautiful Dean. Thank you.”


	2. Origami

Dean scrunches the burger wrapper and three-point shoots it into the trash bin. It’s just him and the laptop for the next few hours while Sam and Cas run down a lead. Normally , Dean’s all about taking charge and leading the investigation, but today he’s got  a mission of his own.

The desk is littered with scraps of paper of various shades and textures. Colours as vibrant as a field of wildflowers in the spring. Dean grins and belches—hey, no one is around to judge him, not even his annoying little brother—and presses play on the latest YouTube video he’s been watching on repeat for the tenth time. 

Dean folds the piece of paper with careful precision, following the instruction video as  closely  as he can, and smiles when the flower comes to life. He lays the origami next to the small pile and smoothes out another piece of paper on the table. 

He’s always known, since the day he stuck a knife in Cas’ chest, that he would do anything to make Cas happy. Even then, Dean never thought he’d brave a thousand paper-cuts and the possibility of a  seriously  raised eyebrow from Sam just to make this day special. 

Valentine’s Day.  A day that used to mean picking up men and women and pretending, for a night, that neither of them was too lonely to go home.  A day that used to mean two-for-one lap dances for the pathetic that had no-one to hold and call his own.  A day where Dean Winchester used to dream about being wanted beyond his cock-sucking lips and magic hips. 

Dean shakes his head and sighs, and the corners of his lips twitch despite himself. It feels nice to not feel like that anymore, feels nice to have someone to hold and cherish and call his own. Dean studies the mess on his desk. Satisfied, he shuts down the laptop and picks up the needle and thread from his first-aid kit. 

The lock clicks open, and Sam and Cas push through the front door in a flurry of  flannel and tanned fabric. Cas settles on the couch, and Sam throws the duffle on the bed, then flops down next to it with a soft groan. “Ugh, could have  really  used your help today, Dean.”

“What, couldn’t handle the ghoul on your own?” 

“It was a whole nest of them.”

“Nothing you and Cas couldn’t handle.” Dean looks up from the desk as he ties off the thread. 

“ Obviously —” Sam pushes onto his elbows. “What are you up to?”

“None  nya business.” Dean’s gaze flicks between the flowers and Cas. 

It’s not that Sam doesn’t know about him and Cas, but it’s something they never talked about. Sam  is supportive in his silence, and that’s  exactly  what Dean needs. 

Something flitters across Sam’s eyes, his face doing that complicated twitch when something clicks for him. “Oh.  Uh , I’ll, um”—he hops off the bed and grabs his coat—“ give you guys  some  space. I’m  gonna go grab lunch,” he announces  loudly  before darting out. The door shuts with a whisper, and then it’s just the two of them. 

“Dean, what’s all this?” Cas asks, his blue eyes sparkling with intrigue as he gets up and walks to the stand by the desk. 

“You know what day it is?”

“Wednesday, February, 14th.” 

“And?”

“Valentine’s Day.” 

“That’s right, sweetheart,” Dean says as he closes the distance between them and places the flower crown on Cas’ head, trapping his mop of dark hair in a splash of vibrant colour. 

“Dean, you know how I feel about killing flowers—”

“I know, I know,” Dean cuts in, “and I know this is some  seriously  cheesy shit, but I just —I  really  wanted to get you some flowers, so I made you these instead. With paper.” 

Cas blinks at him, eyes so full of emotion  they’re glowing. Dean inhales and holds the air in his lungs, trying and failing to not fall into the depth of all that blue. Cas reaches up and touches the thin petal of a tulip, then traces along the edge of each flower. He tilts his head to the side, and his face splits in a wide, gummy smile. 

“Dean, they looked so real,” he murmurs and takes a step closer to Dean, his lips so close Dean can taste his breath. “They’re beautiful.” 

“Now, do I get a kiss for my trouble?” 

Cas leans forward and brushes his lips against Dean’s in a chaste kiss, then whispers, “Just one kiss?” Dean opens his mouth to respond, but the words dry up on his tongue when Cas drops to his knees and looks up at him through thick lashes. The brilliant blue of the origami Forget-Me-Nots brings out the mischievous glint in Cas’ eyes. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Dean.” 


	3. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was so much fun to write! I hope you guys like it.
> 
> Enjoy <3

The sun is just rising over the tops of the trees when Dean steps back to admire his handiwork.

He’s been at this most of the night, since thankfully Cas is a pretty deep sleeper and he’d been able to sneak away from his husband’s octopus grasp not long after he fell asleep. It means that Dean hasn’t exactly had the most restful night, but he’s definitely had worse.

Besides, this is worth it. Cas is worth it.

They’ve been in their new house barely a month, and so much of that has been spent cleaning, fixing, unpacking and decorating. Not only is it now homely and warm and somewhere wonderful to come back to every day, it’s _home_ , and it’s _theirs_. Only theirs – at least, once Dean had evicted the family of raccoons living beneath the front porch.

It’s a fixer-upper for sure, but that’s never deterred either of them in the past. Buying something ready-made and _too_ perfect isn’t Dean’s style. He likes to put in the hard yards and the effort and pour a piece of himself into the house that _they_ chose, him and Cas together. And now it’s perfect.

Well, almost perfect. There had still been something missing, something that Dean knew Cas wanted and loved, but that they hadn’t had time to get around to until now.

And that missing piece was the reason that Dean had rolled up his sleeves just after midnight and gotten to work. He’d do damn near anything for his husband, and honestly, he’s pretty proud of himself for this gift idea. He grins and raises a hand to wipe the sweat off his brow – despite the cold night, he’d been working hard enough to keep himself warm, and thankfully they haven’t had snow for a little while, otherwise he _really_ wouldn’t have had been able to pull it off.

There’s undoubtedly a streak of dirt across his forehead now, since his hands are covered in soil, but Dean can’t find it in himself to care. If he can squeeze in a shower without waking Cas up, that would be great, but Cas has certainly seen him and much worse states than this.

“Dean?”

Speaking of his husband.

Cas’s voice is coming from inside, filtering out through the closed front door, but any second now he’s going to open it. Dean drops his trowel where he stands and leaps up the few stairs onto the front porch, tired joints and muscles be damned. Luckily, it seems that he’s got good timing today, because the door swings open just as he reaches it, and he manages to block Castiel’s view with his body and a wide grin.

His husband squints blearily up at him, his gaze flicking from Dean’s eyes to his mouth and up to his forehead. “What are you doing?” he rumbles, so soft and sleep-rumpled that Dean just wants to sweep him up and kiss him and take him back to bed. “And why are you covered in dirt?”

Perhaps the romantic kiss should wait until after he’s showered.

“I’ve been busy,” he tells Cas with a grin, and he can’t resist leaning forward to press a quick kiss to Castiel’s lips. “You’ll see in a sec. Close your eyes?”

It’s evident in the narrowness of Cas’s eyes that he’s still suspicious, but he obliges Dean anyway and closes them, allowing Dean to lead him out onto the front porch with a hand clasped in his.

He makes sure to position Cas in the best spot to take in all of the yard, checking and double checking that everything looks good, and nothing has been forgotten. Fuck, he hopes Cas likes it. There’s no going back now.

“Open your eyes, Cas,” he whispers quietly, wrapping his arms around Cas’s waist from behind and resting his chin on his husband’s shoulder.

The moment that Cas opens his eyes and takes in the view before him is easy to pinpoint; his breath hitches in a gasp, and he raises a hand to his mouth. “Oh, Dean,” he breathes.

The once-barren front yard, populated only by weeds and sparse grass, has been completely transformed. Dean spent his entire night digging up the cold soil and planting the two dozen flower bushes he’d had crammed into the back shed away from Cas’s prying eyes. Now, in the radiant golden sunrise, the myriad of colours seem to come alive in their front yard, and it’s beautiful.

Cas had always gazed longingly at the sad-looking yard at the front of their house, and as soon as Dean had realized how close their anniversary was, he’d known what his gift to Cas would be. Now he can admire the flowers all he wants, without ever having to pick them or cut them or even leave the boundary of their front fence.

Yeah, Dean’s done good here.

When Castiel turns in Dean’s arms to face him, his eyes are wide and wet with tears, and his hand is still over his mouth in shock. “Do you like it?” Dean asks, though he’s pretty sure that the tears aren’t because Cas had been emotionally attached to the tangle of weeds that had previously been their front lawn.

“It’s beautiful,” Cas whispers, and Dean’s heart feels so full that it could burst as he reaches up to gently remove Cas’s hand from his mouth. “Happy valentine’s day, sweetheart,” he says softly, “and happy anniversary.”

Dean had never thought he would have this life – a house, and a husband, someone he would gladly stay up all night planting flowers for. But here he is, an ex-angel in his arms, surrounded by the life they’ve built for themselves and the dozens of flowers that are a dedication of his love and loyalty to Castiel.

He never thought he would have this, but as Castiel fists his hands in the front of Dean’s dirty t-shirt and pulls him in for a kiss, he knows that he would never have wanted it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> Here are the prompts that spawned these little scraps of fluff:
> 
> Come join us over at the [#ProfoundBond Discord. ](https://discord.gg/GGbw2NP)


End file.
